Story of Us
by Kojakk
Summary: Mirajane Strauss, a talented and kindhearted girl has her eyes set on Magnolia University, one of the top institutes in the country. However, coming from a poor family, she is unable to afford tuition. She gets a job as a barmaid, and everything is great. It looks like she'll be going to the school of her dreams. However, her boss' grandson, Laxus seems to have other plans. AU.
1. Chapter 1 - Demons and Dragons

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

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**Chapter 1: Demons and Dragons**

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She closed the textbook and let out a deep sigh, a sigh that was unheard in the busy bar as it seemed that every single patron had already drank past their limit. For a split moment, Mirajane thought that she was the only person in the entire bar who was sober, the only person who hadn't drank away her problems. She had always been a good student, that was a fact that was well known by everyone who knew her. As a result, the board of eductation were more than happy to grant Mirajane a scholarship to Magnolia University, the college of her dreams. However, she still needed to raise some money in order to fund her tuition. That was the only reason why this young, studious high school senior was in a bar on a school night.

"What do you have there, Mira-chan?" a voice called out, causing the startled white haired girl to turn towards the direction of the voice. At first, it looked like nobody had called her, but then she looked down towards the ground. A very small man was waving at her. Mirajane knew this face well, it was her boss, Makarov Dreyar.

"Nothing, sir. I was just doing some light reading," Mirajane told him sweetly, a faint smile appearing on her lips, but the young girl's tired face gave everything away. She used her elbows to hide the textbook that was she was reading. Makarov was not convinced. He leaped onto the stool besides Mirajane's, standing but still only managing to reach her shoulders.

"Let me see that," the old man said, as he swiped the textbook that Mirajane had tried so hard to hide. He opened up the book, flipped through it's pages, muttering words under his breath as he did so. After he had flipped through the whole book, he put it back on the counter. "Ah, I don't understand a word of it. It's been a long time since I was in school," he let out a deep sigh. The melanholic expression on his face didn't last long though as he looked back at Mirajane.

"But you don't need to hide anything from me, Mira-chan. If Mira-chan needs to study, then she can," he told her, cheerfully. Mirajane was speechless. She was only 17 years old, much too young to be working in a bar. However, she had lied to Makarov when she had applied for the job. She had told him that she was 21. Mirajane was quite developed for her age, and could easily pass for an adult, so she thought that he had been fooled.

"Sir... I..." she began, but Makarov stopped her by holding a single finger up to his lips and making a 'shh' sound. Mirajane stopped speaking immediately. Makarov was a small man, but she had never met anyone more intimidating. Fortunately, more often than not, her boss was in a good mood. Makarov grinned as he looked at Mirajane, the girl still not really sure how to feel. It was clear that Makarov knew she lied, but he didn't really seem mad at her.

"Mira-chan, do you know why I employed you, despite knowing that you were underage?" Makarov asked slyfully, confirming Mirajane's suspicions that Makarov had seen through her little fib. She didn't reply with words, she simply shook her head. Makarov let out a sigh as he sat down on the stool. "It's because I think you're a good girl, a honest person. If you want to work in a place like this, you must really need the money, right? Well, I'd rather you work here than at some other type of shady place," he explained with a sombre tone. "So, don't lie to me. Okay?" Makarov smiled, a genuine smile.

Mirajane could feel herself tearing up, but tried her best to not cry in the bar. Whenever Mirajane cried, she would generally end up bawling. There was no such thing as silent tears when it came to her. However, no matter how hard she tried to surpress it, a single tear came rolling down onto her cheek. She wiped it away. "Yes, sir," she sniffed, in such a soft tone that had Makarov been further away from her, he wouldn't have heard it. The old man opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even get a word out, the door slammed open, drawing both the old man and the young girl's attention towards who was making the ruckus.

Standing at the door was a stockily built man with spiked up blonde hair. A brown fur cape was draped around his shoulders and massive earphones were resting on his neck. A strange attire indeed, Mirajane thought, as the man began to walk towards the bar, presumbly to order a drink. However, his eyes were not focused on Mirajane, the barmaid. No, they were focused on the person sitting beside her. Mirajane turned to Makarov, who had a shocked expression on his face, to the point that it almost looked comical.

"Lax...Laxus!" Makarov managed to stutter, his voice a mere croak. The surprised expression on Makarov's face seemed to amuse the man known as Laxus though, as a smirk appeared on his lips. He grabbed a stool and sat down, his eyes left Makarov and drifted towards Mirajane for a split second, before turning their attention back to Makarov, who still looked dumbfounded.

"Oi, Gramps. Isn't this one a bit too young for you? I mean, she must be around my age," Laxus said, gesturing towards Mirajane with his head but not even glancing towards her direction. At that moment, after hearing that comment, Mirajane decided that she didn't really like this guy. But wait. What did he call Makarov? Gramps?

"It's nothing like that, you idiot!" Makarov snapped, defensively. Mirajane was shocked, she had never seen her boss snap at someone like that. He was always so polite to everyone, but the way he spoke to his blonde stranger had an air of familiarity around it. She wouldn't have been surprised if these two really were grandson and grandfather. Makarov turned his head towards Mirajane. "Sorry about this, Mira-chan..." he apologised, his tone changing completely from before.

At this point, Mirajane felt the need to come to her boss' defense. She looked Laxus in the eye and smiled. It wasn't a genuine smile, but it wasn't a fake smile either. She had decided that she didn't like this person, but even then, she barely knew him. She should give him another chance, at the very least, even though he had messed up his first impression. First impressions were important, but she still felt compelled to introduce herself. After all, this person was Makarov's grandson. He must have inherited some of that kind personality, right?

"I'm Mirajane Strauss. I... I work here," she said, pausing slightly in the middle after looking at Laxus' face. Now that she got a better look at him, she could see a scar coming down his right eye, which intimidated her. The scowl that was apparent on Laxus' face didn't help either.

"I'm sure you do," Laxus simply stated, looking completely unimpressed. As he said those rude words he didn't even bother to acknowledge Mirajane, looking towards the bottles of alcohol that were behind her, rather than at her. He then stood up and walked behind the bar, scanning through the different bottles until he found out that he liked. He grabbed it, uncorked it before chugging it down, then and there. He then slammed the empty bottle onto the counter, wiped his lips before walking away, heading towards the stairs that led to the bar's second floor. When he was halfway up the flight of stairs, he looked back at Makarov.

"Gramps, you still got my room? You didn't rent it out to anyone, did you?" he asked, looking down towards Makarov, who was still sitting down on the stool. He didn't reply, and it seemed like Laxus got impatient and decided to take Makarov's silence as a 'no'. "Good," Laxus muttered as he climbed up the stairs. Mirajane watched as he climbed, and didn't take her eyes off Laxus' back until he was completely out of her sight. After she couldn't see him anymore, she put her hand on the bottle that Laxus had left, intending to throw it away. However, before she could get a touch on it, a hand had already swiped it away. Makarov's hand.

"Sir, are you okay? Is the bottle not empty? I thought..." she began.

"No," Makarov simply stated, as he jumped off the stool, the bottle still in his hands. "Your job is to serve the customers. That person wasn't a customer, just my idiot grandson. That's why I'll clean up after him. You don't worry about it," Makarov told her, as he walked away. However, much like Laxus had done earlier, he stopped halfway and looked back at Mirajane. "You can go home. Get some sleep. It's Thursday. School tomorrow, right?" he told her, as he he continued on his way. Mirajane opened her mouth to speak.

"But there's 2 more hours until my shift is..." she began to say, but Makarov had already walked away, having left the building. Mirajane sighed. She was pretty confused. If Makarov had a grandson, why hadn't she seen him before? Maybe he lived very far away. That would explain why Makarov was so surprised to see him show up today. While she was deep in thought, Mirajane ended up knocking her textbook onto the ground. She went over to pick up, but a hand had beat her to it. The person who had picked up her book was none other than Laxus. However, unlike before, he was wearing only a yellow bathrobe.

"A textbook?" Laxus said, curiously, not bothering to return the book to Mirajane. Instead, he flipped through the pages of the book, similar to how Makarov had done it. Afterwards, he held the book in front of Mirajane, who accepted it without saying thank you, uncommon for her. "Whoa, I said you and I were the same age earlier, but it seems like I was wrong. Thermal expansion? What are you, a high school student?" Laxus laughed, as he took a seat that Makarov had just vacanted. Mirajane looked away. She didn't think that guys like Laxus were the company that she wanted to keep.

"Yes... I'm a senior," she told him, stuffing the book into her purse. Normally she would have carefully placed the book, organizing the contents of her handbag so that everything fit perfectly. However, this time, she hastily stuffed the book in before zipping the purse. She just wanted to leave the place immediately. Laxus didn't seem to reply to what she said, but it was obvious that he was shocked that a high school student was working at a bar. She picked up the purse and began to walk towards the exit, only muttering a quick farewell to the blonde man as she left. But as she passed him, she felt someone grab her arm. She turned around to see Laxus holding onto her wrist.

Without expression, Laxus opened his mouth. "The name's Laxus," he said, formally introducing himself. "Laxus Dreyar." he continued, before letting go of the girl's wrist. And with that, he got back up off the seat and disappeared up the stairs, not even bothering to look back this time, leaving Mirajane standing there, not really sure what to think. At first, she thought that maybe he had some manners after all, actually introducing himself. But then again, it wasn't very gentlemanly to grab a woman's hand without warning. Mirajane began to rub her wrist. At first, she thought that Laxus would have been able to crush her hand, but her wrist wasn't sore after he grabbed it. She could still feel the warmth of his hand on her wrist.

"Strong... strong grip," she murmured, before turning around to take her leave.


	2. Omake - The Dragon's Clan

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

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**Chapter 1.5: The Dragon's Clan**

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"Winona couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her father's mouth..." Mirajane read, she said the sentence in a hushed tone, as if she didn't want anyone else to know she was speaking. However, in reality, Mirajane was unaware that she was even talking aloud. It was a habit of hers to talk aloud when she was reading in her head. Quickly, she turned the page, but before she could set her eyes on the page, someone had swiped the book from her hands. She looked up to see Laxus staring down at her, an visibly irritated look on his face. He gently put the book down on the counter.

"Do you mind?" Laxus asked, his voice was strained. "I'm trying to play pool here," he said, as he pointed with his pool cue at the pool table that Makarov had recently purchased for the bar. "Good investment by the old man, I have to say," Laxus admitted, a smirk evident on his face as he walked back towards the table. He got into position to line up a shot. "Besides, aren't you suppose to be working? Unless the old timer pays you to just sit around and look pretty, in which case, I humbly apologise," he said sarcastically, hitting the shot a split second after those words came out of his mouth.

He missed.

"Tch!" Laxus grunted in frustration. At that moment, he looked like he was going to snap his pool cue in half and turn the table over. And despite the fact that she had only met him the night prior, Laxus definitely looked like a man that would do something like that. However, instead of losing his temper, he let out a deep sigh and put the pool cue back on the table before settling down at the bar. "Hey, mind getting me a drink?" he asked casually.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" Mirajane asked him, as she folded the corner of the page she was on. After she had done that, she closed the book and placed it on the counter, awaiting Laxus' answer. The blonde man looked away and muttered something in annoyance under his breath, a word that Mira couldn't quite catch. "What was that, Laxus? What did you say?" she asked, curiously. The annoyed expression on Laxus' face didn't change.

"Nothing. Don't be so nosy," he scolded. "And water is fine,"

"Coming right up!" Mirajane replied happily, as she turned around, grabbing a clean, empty glass as she did so. She then took the jug and began to pour, only stopping when the glass was more or less three quarters filled. She then handed it to Laxus. "No charge," she winked, but the man didn't take the joke as he took the glass without even a word of thank you. He chugged down the entire thing in one go before slamming the glass onto the counter.

"Man, it's warm. Almost summer, I guess," Laxus muttered, as he grabbed Mirajane's book. He began to fan himself with the paperback novel, much to Mirajane's chagrin. She gave him a stern look, but in the end, it turns out she wasn't really that intimidating. She didn't think it mattered though. Even if she was, Laxus probably wouldn't have stopped. "By the way..." he began, as he stopped fanning himself. "What exactly did Winona do to get her dad so mad?" he asked, grinning.

"What? I don't get what you mean," Mirajane replied, genuinely confused.

The grin on Laxus' face only got wider, as he took the book and showed it to her. "I meant in this novel of yours. You might not have noticed, but you've been reading out loud for the past hour or so while I was playing pool. I was listening. I ignored it at first, but it was really starting to bug me... that voice of yours," he told her, as he put the book back on the counter.

"Oh, the book! Well, Wiona went against her father's wishes and..." she stopped speaking, as she thought back to what Laxus had just said to her. He had mentioned her voice. Her voice... being annoying? Surely not. Laxus was the kind of guy who said what he felt like, sure enough, but Mira didn't think he could be so rude directly in someone's face. "Wait, my voice bugs you?" she asked. There was no anger in her voice, merely disappointment. Just when she thought she and Laxus were getting along.

"Don't take it personally, princess," Laxus sneered. "I just can't stand innocent girls like you. But don't get me wrong, I really am interested in the book. Won't you tell me?" he smirked, but Mirajane remained quiet for a couple of seconds before answering.

"Wiona's father is mad because Wiona disobeyed him. She fell in love with a commoner, Wiona comes from a line of nobles, you see... she disobeyed him by running away with the commoner. They got caught. I'm on the bit where he's scolding her for running away," she told him, and she could tell that Laxus had been listening intently, hanging on every word that came out of her mouth. He nodded after she finished her explanation.

"Well, I thought it would be something like that," Laxus murmured, as he raised a single eyebrow. "Doesn't that remind you of someone though?" he said, looking towards Mira's direction. This time, it was the white haired woman's turn to raise an eyebrow. Laxus was surprised that the young barmaid couldn't see that the situation of the girl in the story was similar to her own situation. "Well, isn't she like you? Wiona, that is. I mean, I doubt your parents wanted you working in a place like this," Laxus pointed out, reminding her of the fact that she was an underage person in a bar.

"Well, what they don't know can't..." Mira began, unsure of how she should reply. In a way, she was in the wrong here. All this time, she had been thinking that Laxus was some sort of bad guy, that it would be wrong for her to be in his presence, that he would be a bad influence. As true as those things might have been, she couldn't deny that she was lying too.

"What they don't know can't hurt them?" Laxus said, taking the words right out of Mirajane's mouth. He said it in an almost mocking tone. "Is that really what you think? Ignorance is bliss? You read the story, you know it better than I do. You might get caught," he told her. "And what are you going to do then?" he continued, as he took the book, handing it over to her. "Why don't you read and find out what happened to Winona?"

"I...I already finished the book. This is my second time reading it," Mirajane replied, calmly. She wouldn't let Laxus' words get to her. At first, they hurt, but the sting would go away soon, she was sure of that. After all, Laxus didn't know her that well. He knew that she was underage and working as a barmaid, but that was it. Who was he to judge her? He had no right to say anything.

"Eh, really?" he muttered, putting the book back down again. "Alright, then. Tell me what happens. What did Winona's father do? What was her punishment for disobeying him?" he asked, curiously. His eyes lit up as he said this, he sounded like he really wanted to know, but Mirajane could read it in his face. It looked as though he already knew the answer.

"They disowned her, of course." Mirajane simply stated, rather bluntly as well, which seemed to catch Laxus by surprise.

"I see. So that's how it was," the blonde man mused, as he began to stroke his chin, similar to how a wise man would stroke their beard. "I suppose that would be the most realistic way of looking at it. I was expecting a happy ending though, like the commoner comes to rescue her and they live happily ever after,"

"Not all stories have happy endings,"

"You're right, of course. This isn't a fairy tale we're living in," Laxus nodded curtly. "There's no guarantee of a happy ending is there, princess?" he said, resting his elbow on the counter, a grin still sketched onto his face. Before he could say anything more, however, the door slammed open. The grin faded from Laxus' face as he turned around to see who was there. Mirajane's attention was piqued as well. Nobody ever came here in the afternoon.

Three people stood at the door, two men and a woman. Laxus looked at them with expressionless eyes. Mirajane couldn't tell what he was thinking. The three people at the door, however, seemed to be on the verge of tears. Without warning, all three of them ran towards Laxus, surrounding him.

"Laxus, so the rumours were true! You really did come back!" an average sized green haired man shouted, as he draped both of his arms around Laxus. The other two joined in the group hug as well, but Laxus didn't look so pleased. He tried to pry them off him.

"Freed, Bickslow... Evergreen too..." Laxus said, putting emphasis on each name that he called out. "To think that news of my return would reach you guys so soon," he muttered, almost regretfully. Deep down, though, he was somewhat happy to see his old friends again. Things had been... quiet without them. Laxus turned his head towards Mirajane's direction, and held out three fingers.

"Three drinks for my friends, Mira-chan. I'll float the bill," Laxus instructed, showing that he hadn't forgot the 'pet name' that Makarov called her. As he ordered, he gestured towards his three friends. While he called her 'Mira-chan' in jest, it seemed like the green haired man took it seriously, while the other two simply shrugged it off. The man known as Freed shifted his attention from Laxus to Mirajane.

"And who are you?" Freed said, pointing an excusing finger at the young barmaid. "She just works here right, Laxus?" the man asked, looking towards the blonde man for confirmation, to which Laxus nodded in reply. Freed turned his head back towards Mirajane. "So why are you two talking with such familiarity?!" he said, gritting his teeth.

Bickslow began to stroke his chin, clearly imitating Laxus. It seemed like he was trying to copy Laxus, or perhaps it was the other way around, and Laxus had gotten that habit from Bickslow? Mirajane didn't know, but she didn't really care either. "Freed's got a good point. You two lovers or something?" he asked. Freed almost fainted after hearing that, while Bickslow and Evergreen remained relatively unaffected.

"Do you guys not have a sense of humour?" Laxus asked dryly. "I was just kidding..." he told them, although the tone in his voice didn't suggest that he was being lighthearted at all.

"Yes, he was just kidding!" Freed said, clearly overreacting to Laxus' words. He shrugged Mirajane off, as if she had suddenly become irrelevant after Laxus admitted that he had only called her Mira-chan as a joke. "There is no woman in the world who is good enough for Laxus, after all!" he added, clenching his fist as he did so. Bickslow patted the guy on the back, as if to ask him to calm down.

Mirajane tapped Laxus on the back. "Hm?" he replied, as he leaned in closer to hear what Mirajane had to say. The white haired girl moved her lips closer to Laxus' ears. "Since you live on the second floor, does that mean these three will be coming over often?" she asked.

Laxus nodded, his face was still expressionless. "More or less. Why? Can't handle them?" Laxus asked, loud enough for the three people to hear. Bickslow, Freed and Evergreen didn't hear what Laxus said though. Freed was still letting out sighs of relief after finding out that Mirajane and Laxus weren't a couple, Bickslow just seemed to be staring blankly in the distance while Evergreen was staring at herself in a compact mirror.

Mira shook her head, and let out a sigh, before a smile appeared on her lips. "Right then!" she began. "Three drinks coming up!"

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**A/N: **_Hi guys! An author's note was missing from the first chapter, because... well I didn't really have anything to say. But now I do! I want to thank the my reviewers, xNightDreamerx, SheRa-ver, ShiroKuroKnight, DDRV, D-Maestro. And thank you to all the guests as well. I hope you guys enjoyed this ... filler 1.5 chapter! It was just something I thought up of and was originally suppose to be a one-shot. Consider it a preview. More to come! Also, if you guys have any preferences as to how you want the story to pan out, leave a review! I'm open to suggestions!  
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	3. Chapter 2 - Demon's Domain

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

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**Chapter 2: Demon's Domain**

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The bell resounded around the school to signal the beginning of classes for that day. Like the good student that she was, Mirajane headed towards her seat in classroom 3-C. She put her hand on the doorknob, turned it before entering the room. It looked like today was going to be a full house, as every single desk seemed to be occupied, besides her own, of course. She walked towards her seat. The second she sat down, the door slid open again and Class 3-C's homeroom teacher, Gildarts Clive entered the room, a bored expression on his face.

"Is everybody here?" Gildarts asked lazily, as a chorus of 'yes sir' could be heard. He had never really been the one to take attendance, and as a result, it was very easy to play traunt from class and not get caught. Even so, Gildarts' had some keen senses. He scanned the room and pointed towards a single empty desk near the back. Mirajane hadn't seen it, which was odd considering it was the seat right behind hers.

"Natsu," Gildarts simply stated. "Natsu's not here," he continued, as he marked the young man absent on the roll call booklet. "Shame too, that kid's almost always in school," Gildarts commented. Mirajane could vouch for that. Natsu was certainly a person who regularly attended class and his face was a welcomed sight for her in the morning. After ticking Natsu off as absent, Gildarts turned his attention back to the rest of the class.

"Students. Today, I've got some news. There's going to be a new pupil joining our class," he informed them. "I know it's late in the year, and you've all formed your own social groups and whatnot, but try and befriend this guy, alright?" Gildarts added, as he walked over to the door. He opened it and poked his head outside. "Hey, come in now," he muttered, as he grabbed someone by the arm and led them into the room.

Mirajane couldn't believe her eyes.

Standing at the very front of the class with her homeroom teacher was none other than Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of her boss. There was no way that he could be the new student. He had read one of her textbooks and treated it like it was child's play, that and he was huge, his face was brazen, and he looked much more like an adult than a teenager. Then again, the same could apply to her.

"My name is Laxus Dreyar," he introduced himself, without much emotion at all. He didn't really seem to be looking around the class, but he wasn't really staring at the ground either. Rather, he looked quite indifferent, as if he didn't really care about being there. It was obvious that he hadn't seen Mirajane. "I'm 19 years old. I was attending Hargeon University, but I was ... er, expelled," he said, almost fumbling his words, which was pretty uncharacteristic of him. "I'm taking the entrance exams for Magnolia University, so I decided to repeat my final year," he finished.

Gildarts patted Laxus on the back. Much to Mirajane's surprise, Laxus and Gildarts were both the same height, which only served to make him more intimidating. Gildarts scanned the room, stroking his beard as he did so. "There doesn't seem to any room. Well, that's fine. I'll get a chair for you tomorrow. For now, sit in the seat behind Mirajane's. The person who normally sits there is absent today," Gildarts told him, as he pointed towards the empty seat behind Mirajane's.

Laxus' brow raised curiously, as he heard her name. He looked towards the direction where Gildarts had been pointing and it his suspicions were confirmed. Mira could see a slight smile appear on Laxus' face as he headed towards the empty seat. He didn't even look towards Mira's way as he sat down in Natsu's seat. She looked back at him and stared, wondering if he would even bother acknowledging her. They were friends after all, right?

"Hi, I'm Laxus," he greeted sarcastically. To the outsider, this would have looked like a friendly introduction, but Mirajane took it as an insult, and she was right to as well. Huffing, the white haired woman turned around. Laxus feigned ignorance, as he rested his head on his elbows, looking warily up at the board.

Gildarts clapped both of his hands together. "Alright, let's start," he said, grabbing a stick of chalk. He began to write on the board, but the next thing he knew, banging could be heard throughout the room. Everyone looked towards the source of the noise, Laxus included. He could see an average sized pink haired boy standing on the ledge outside the window, tapping frantically on the glass.

"Aren't we on the second floor?" Laxus muttered, not to anyone in particular. There was no emotion in his voice, as if this was a regular occurance for him. The students stared in shock for a couple of seconds, while Gildarts looked on, wide eyed. Only one girl reacted. A blonde one, Laxus noted. She walked half the room to the window, opening it, allowing the boy outside to fall into the classroom.

"Thanks Luce, you saved me!" the pink haired boy said, gratefully as he draped both of his arms around the girl, causing her face to turn as pink as the boy's hair. She pushed him off of her, much to the pink haired boy's confusion. But he didn't let it get to him, as he turned around, his eyes meeting with Laxus' eyes. The grateful look on his face faded as he squared up to the blonde man.

"Oi, you, you're in my seat," he growled, as he put one leg up on the desk. Laxus didn't take this standing down, of course, as he stood up and grabbed the boy by the collar.

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?" Laxus said, gritting his teeth. Mirajane looked on at the two of them, the pink haired boy's foot was on the desk, as if to exert his dominance over it, while Laxus' hand was on his collar, pulling it up, probably making it hard for the boy to breathe.

"Natsu, stop it!" a voice called out. At first, Mirajane thought it was Gildarts calling out for his student to stop acting so rude to a new pupil, but she soon realized that the voice that called out was far too feminine to be Gildarts. Laxus and the boy known as Natsu were both surprised as they turned to see who had called out. Before Natsu could fully turn around though, someone had already smacked him in the head with a book. Laxus let go of the boy's collar as Natsu fell to the ground. Laxus faced towards Natsu's attacker. It was the blonde girl that opened the window.

"Lucy, what was that for?!" Natsu winced, rubbing his head. It was clear that he was trying to sound as tough as possible. Laxus looked down at Natsu, who was still sitting on the ground. Now that he thought about it, this guy looked pretty familiar. What did the girl call him again? But before Laxus could collect his thoughts, someone was already touching him, as if to check his condition. Lucy, he recalled.

"Are you okay, did he hurt you?" Lucy asked. "I'm sorry about Natsu, he does this a lot, but... he's a nice guy, really. He can just be an idiot sometimes," Lucy told him, as Laxus looked back towards Natsu, who had already picked himself up from the ground.

"Natsu..." Laxus repeated, the name rolled off the tongue. Now that he thought about it, he knew a guy called Natsu, a long time ago. "Pink hair, ugly scarf... why didn't I notice it was you earlier, Dragneel?" Laxus scoffed, looking away. "You've grown... a little,"

"Natsu, you know Laxus?" Mirajane asked curiously. Natsu's ears perked up, like a dog that had just heard something exciting. He squared up to Laxus once more, but he didn't do anything that would have offended the bigger man. He simply stood there, examining Laxus from head to toe.

"No way..." Natsu uttered, his mouth wide open in surprise. "Laxus, is that you?" Natsu said, his voice was soft, and his knees looked like they were trembling with excitement, a wide grin etched onto his face. Natsu was the kind of guy that always had a smile on his face.

"If you had gotten to class on time, you'd know that it is me," Laxus simply stated, not looking having as excited to see Natsu as Natsu was to see him. Laxus sighed, as he looked towards Gildarts'. It was obvious that he didn't really like the attention. After all, the entire room had their eyes on him, Natsu and Lucy.

"Sir, what are we going to do about this?" Laxus said, gesturing towards him and Natsu. The seat was quite small, so there was no way that the both of them was going to fit. Gildarts looked like he was deep in thought, contemplating what the best course of action was.

"First off, Lucy, go back to your seat," he said. Lucy blushed slightly, as she tiptoed back to her desk which was at the other end of the classroom. He then looked at Laxus then at Natsu. "Alright, guess I'll have to ask Macao for a desk. His class is tiny anyway," Gildarts sighed, as he exited the classroom. He looked back at the two boys, the only two people left standing. "Natsu, sit down. Laxus, don't move,"

As promised, Gildarts returned a couple of seconds later with a brand new desk, positioning it fairly close to the top, much to Laxus' dismay. "Tch," he muttered, as he headed towards his new desk, which was practically right in front of Gildarts, the teacher. He probably wouldn't have a hard time concentrating now that he was so close to the board, but he sort of wanted to sit near Mira. Laxus' face turned cherry red for a split second as he turned around to look at her. She was diligently working away on something, much too preoccupied to notice that he was staring at her.

"Hey, you," someone whispered as they tapped Laxus on the back. The blonde man turned around to see a young man staring back at him. He had short black hair, and seemed to be wearing his uniform a lot differently from everyone else. For one, he wasn't wearing the school shirt... or any shirt for that matter.

"The hell, why are you naked?" Laxus asked, as he scanned the man from head to toe, wondering if he was only shirtless or whether he was full body nude. Fortunately, the man had some pants on. Laxus let out a silent sigh of relief, but the man didn't seem to hear him. It was just Laxus' luck to have to sit in front of a stripper.

"I see you're checking out Strauss, eh?" the man said, nudging Laxus slightly. He spoke in an incredibly hushed tone, as to not arouse the suspicion of Gildarts. Laxus raised an eyebrow. Strauss? Ah, he remembered now. Strauss was Mirajane's surname. She had introduced herself as Mirajane Strauss when the two of them had first met... about two chapters ago.

"And so what if I am?" Laxus replied, in a soft tone also. The last thing he wanted as to get in trouble on the first day of school. The half naked man frowned, and turned to look at Mirajane, before letting out a sigh.

"By the way, when were you going to say hi to your old buddy?" the half naked man asked, completely ignoring what Laxus had said earlier. He nudged the blonde man slightly.

"Do I know you?" Laxus asked, curiously.

"Gray. Gray Fullbuster," Gray replied, as he leaned in slightly

That name rang bells. Ah, now he remembered. Gray was always hanging around Natsu in the bar. That's where he knew the pink haired man as well. They were both regulars at Makarov's bar despite both of them being kids. Laxus didn't really mind though. He preferred talking to them rather than having to talk to some drunk adults.

"You've grown," Laxus murmured. Gray smirked and crashed down into his seat, albeit making little noise as he did so. He took out a lollypop and stuck it into his mouth, before taking it out again.

"So Strauss, eh? Is that the kind of girl you like?" Gray asked, putting the lollypop back in his mouth. He turned around quickly to look at Mirajane. "Pretty face, actually. Great body too. But she's a total teacher's pet," he sighed, observing the fact that she was writing something onto her notebook. He looked back at Laxus with an assuming smirk. "So, do you like her?"

But before Laxus could reply, a booming voice could be heard. "I'm not deaf, you know!" Gildarts roared, as he slammed his fist into Laxus' table, probably doing more damage to his hand than to the table, but if he was in pain, he hid it well. "Dreyar, talk about your crush on Mirajane another time. Fullbuster, get that lollypop out of your mouth and put on a shirt," he commanded.

Laxus and Gray remained quiet for the rest of the class.

The final bell rang to signal the ending of the school day. Laxus got up off the seat immediately and headed out the door, not bothering to wait for anyone else. Chances were, Mirajane probably had a shift at the bar later on tonight, so he would definitely see her. Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow would probably be there too. Now that Natsu and Gray knew he was back in town, they were both sure to make an appearance also.

Laxus let out a weak sigh as he approached the school gates. It had been a somewhat turbulent day at school. After Gildarts embarrassed him in front of the class by talking about his 'crush' on 'Strauss', Laxus wasn't able to bring himself to look back at Mirajane. He wasn't sure whether she was embarrassed as well, or whether she had just shrugged it off. The way she was working, she might not have even noticed.

Laxus could see a figure waiting by the school gate. The closer he got to the school gate, the more visible the figure became. It was a woman, for sure, and she was definitely waiting for somebody. At first, Laxus thought it was a girl waiting for her friends. However, before he had even reached the gate, he had a good idea as to who it was. It was obvious, really.

"You waiting for somebody?" Laxus questioned as he approached the white haired girl who was waiting by the gate. She was staring straight at the ground, and hadn't seen him approach her. She seemed surprised as she looked up to see Laxus talking to her. She shook her head.

"You going straight to the bar?" Laxus inquired curiously, rubbing the back of his head. He wondered whether she heard what Gildarts said earlier, but put it to the back of his mind. Even if she did, it seemed like she didn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah," she replied. The two of them exchanged quick glances. Without words, they both began walking, their destination being the Fairy Tail bar. Their entire journey was marred with silence, but for some reason, the two of them wouldn't have had it any other way. Silence was peace. Silence was best.

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**A/N:** _This is the longest chapter! I hope I haven't bored any of you, but I feel like I should introduce some of the other characters. As always, thanks for reading and leave a review if you have suggestions. Also, Awesome D.T, unfortunately, the book that Mira was reading isn't real. I just made it up, haha. Maybe the next book she'll pick up will be a real work though! _


	4. Chapter 3 - Truth

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

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**Chapter 3: Truth **

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The sun overlooked the Fairy Tail bar, the light penetrating the small cracks in the building's old exterior. Nobody noticed the small cracks in the building though, as all the patrons in the bar were too busy talking with each other, clinking their glasses together. The owner of the establishment, Makarov was nowhere to be found, his grandson, Laxus, was just chilling out by the counter while Mirajane was cleaning some dishes.

"I'm bored," Laxus grumbled, as he put his empty glass on the counter. It was a fine day outside, a Saturday afternoon, but there was absolutely nothing for him to do. He never thought he'd say it, but he was actually hoping that Freed or even Natsu would come busting down the door to entertain him.

"Don't worry, it's still early. I'm sure they'll come soon enough, given time. Natsu and the others, I mean," Mirajane smiled, as he took Laxus' glass for cleaning. It was as though she was able to read Laxus' mind. The blonde man didn't seem amuse though as he let out an irritated grunt.

"Who cares if they come or not? Things are more peaceful without that pink haired guy around anyway," Laxus said, half heartedly. He wasn't really lying, things really peaceful without Natsu making a ruckus, but then again, Laxus always thought peace was overrated.

Before Mirajane could respond, someone had bolted through the door, catching her and Laxus' attention. They both turned around to see Natsu frantically looking around. Gray was standing beside him, a bored expression on his face. Lucy was there too, trying to calm down the pink haired boy.

"Oi, Laxus, are you here? Let's fight. For all time's sake," Natsu huffed, finally managing to spot Laxus by the bar. "There you are!" Natsu let out a roar as he charged at Laxus. A wide grin appeared on Laxus' face for a split second, as he flipped Natsu, causing him to crash over the counter. Mirajane looked down at the downed Natsu.

"Are you okay, Natsu?" she asked, extending out her hand to help him up.

Natsu began to rub his head, as he looked up at Mira. "Still no good, huh? You're still damn strong, Laxus," he commented, as he took Mira's hand and allowed her to elevate him back up. He stared down at Laxus, who was checking something on his phone. He was wearing headphones. "Hey, hey, are you even listening to me?" Natsu muttered, as he pulled Laxus' headphones off.

Laxus looked at Natsu, a scowl on his face. "Give me back the headphones, Dragneel," he told him, in a low, threatening voice. Natsu, on the other hand, couldn't help but grin, as he leapt up onto the counter and ran towards the other side of the bar.

"Sure, but only if you can catch me!"

After a couple of minutes of chasing Natsu around, much to the amusement of the bar patrons, Laxus finally managed to catch the spunky, red haired student. He grabbed the headphones from Natsu, before positoning them around his own neck. "What's the big idea, making me exert my energy like that?" Laxus muttered, as he took his seat.

"Jeez, Laxus," Natsu began as he sat down beside him. "You're not as fun as you used to be. You know that? The old Laxus would have pounded me a little bit. Did you get soft during your time in Hargeon?" he murmured, stroking his chin with genuine concern.

"I decided to stop hanging around with punks like you!" Laxus snapped, as he thumped the back of Natsu's head, reacting rather comically. Mirajane thought it was strange, seeing Laxus, who was normally so cold, act like this.

"That's the Laxus I know..." Natsu groaned, as he formed a thumbs up with his right hand, while touching the back of his head with his left hand. "That's gonna bruise later," he mumbled.

Mirajane couldn't help but giggle, causing Laxus to turn his attention towards her. "Something funny, Mira?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. There was an irritated expression plastered over the big man's face.

"Nothing like that. I just always thought you were a cold person. But it looks like you can be warm... sometimes. Especially when you're with your friends," she answered, in a hushed tone. The angelic softness of Mirajane's voice didn't seem to calm Laxus down at all. If anything, he looked even angrier.

"Friends? I don't consider this pest a friend," he replied loudly defiantly, pointing towards Natsu, who didn't seem to take any offense. He then let out a quick, but troubled sigh. "Well, not that it matters. Can you get me a drink?" he asked, the volume of his voice had decreased.

"Oi, Laxus, wanna fig-..?" Natsu piped up randomly, springing up, but before he could finish his sentence, Lucy had silenced him with a single fist to the head. Gray simply nodded approvingly, patting Natsu on the pack as if to commend his efforts. He turned to look towards Mirajane.

"I gotta apologize about flame brains over here. He doesn't have a normal bone in his body. We've been classmates for quite some time, but we've never had a proper conversation. My name's Gray," Gray said, feeling compelled to introduce himself. It was needless, of course, as Mirajane already knew his name.

"But Mira, you're so bold! I had no idea you had a boyfriend, let alone a guy like this..." Lucy suddenly said but she trailed off when she realized that Laxus reacted strongly to her 'guy like this' comment.

"B-boyfriend? N..no.. you've misunderstood. Laxus and I aren't like that," Mirajane corrected her, her face turning bright red. She turned towards Laxus, hoping that he'll back her up, but he simply sat there. His face was also slightly red.

"That's a lie!" Natsu roared, as he sprang up onto the bar counter. For a second there, it looked like Natsu had fire coming out of his mouth. He pointed accusingly towards Laxus and Mirajane. "I saw you two walking home together. If you guys aren't lovers, why else would you meet up after school like that?!" he chided.

Gray's face suddenly lit up as he held up his hand for a hand five with Laxus. "My man!" he said energetically, expecting Laxus to return the gesture. However, instead, Laxus simply grabbed Gray's hand and forced it back down.

"It's because we had a common destination. Just because you saw us walking together doesn't prove anything. Don't jump to conclusions like that!" Laxus scolded, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Actually," Lucy started. "The thing I'm surprised about most is that you're working in a bar, Mira. Isn't your father the chief polic commissioner in Magnolia? And here you are, working at a place like this," she wondered.

Mirajane looked away, avoiding eye contact with Lucy. "Well, that's... you see..." she mumbled, not really sure how to reply. She took a second to collect her thoughts, before opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Only stutters.

"If your dad is a bigshot like that, then you wouldn't need to work here to go to collge, would you?" Laxus inquired, surprised. However, the big man wasn't half as surprised as Mirajane was.

"How did you know that I was only working here for that reason?!" she questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?" came the reply.

Mirajane sighed. "It's complicated. Well, you see, yes, it's true, my father could pay for my college education. Thing is, he doesn't really want me to go..." she began. "He wants me to stay at home and take care of my younger siblings. I do that already, but if I go to college, I won't be able to. And both my parents are too busy so..." she suddenly stopped. There was no need for her to say anymore.

"Hey, hey. I've seen your brother. He's not the kind of guy that needs taking care of. Elfman, right?" Gray commented. A faint smile appeared on Mirajane's face.

"That's totally unfair! You're good at studying. You're talented, so you should be allowed to use them. It's just not right for him to deny you that opportunity," Lucy threw in her own opinion.

"Not that it matters, right? None of us here will tell Mirajane's pop, so it's fine, right?" Natsu said, looking towards Lucy and Gray, who nodded. Natsu turned to Laxus, who had distanced himself slightly from the group. "You too, Laxus? You won't tell anyone, will you?"

The blonde man looked at Mira, who was looking at him with pleading eyes. Both of their eyes met, and Laxus couldn't help but turn a little bit red. He hadn't realized it before, but looking straight into her eyes was like drowning in a sea of crystal blue. Cliched, true, but there was no other way to describe the sensation.

He looked away. "Tch. It's got nothing to do me,"

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**A/N: **_You guys waited a long time for this, but unfortunately, this is one of the shorter chapters. Even so, I hope you'll enjoy it. As always, feel free to review! It's Exam Week, so once I'm done with those, I'll be back in full force! _


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